Showstopper

Number 21 in the Peter Diamond series. It is bittersweet to find myself here. There is only one book left in this wonderful series, and it hasn't even been released yet. This one is Peter Diamond at his best. Following his gut and hiding some, if not all, of his doings from his boss, the odious Georgina. These books are beautifully satisfying. Each and everyone gives us a complex and perplexing mystery, and an unforgettable team trying to solve it. This one focuses on a tv production set that is rumoured to be jinxed as there have been numerous deaths, accidents.disappearances and other unfortunate occurrences during the filming of a television series that is in its seventh year. Peter knows there is something very amiss with this whole show more series and its cast and workers, but is told by Georgina to let it drop, and to consider thinking about retirement. Curmudgeonly Diamond does not want to retire, and he knows that something is badly wrong in the "Swift" series, so continues on on his own with his very talented team, to try to get to the bottom of it all. Each book in the series is filled with razor-sharp wit, red herrings galore, very complex mysteries and numerous stellar and also unsavoury characters, and absolutely none of the books disappoint. I will truly miss Bath CID and the irascible Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond. This book deserves another five star rating from me. show less

Nothing spells reading enjoyment like a Peter Diamond mystery with its wit, humor, clever plots, and iconic main character. Think you know all about backseat drivers? If you haven't been graced with Peter Diamond as a passenger, think again. Moreover, no one can ignore technology like he can. Fortunately, he has a team that works like a well-oiled machine, a team that's aware of this man's quirks and can deal with them without even blinking an eye. Diamond may enjoy teasing members of his team, but he's also quick to praise them when a job is well done.

In Showstopper, Diamond and his team get a real workout as they try to discover why so many things are going wrong on the set of the hit television series Swift, and I have to admit that show more I had to wait for Diamond to work his magic because I was nowhere close to solving the case myself.

I enjoyed the devious plot. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters. I enjoyed the backstage look at filming a hit TV show. And I certainly enjoyed Lovesey's knack for turning a vivid phrase ("an ancient wisteria with vines like petrified pythons"). If you haven't made the acquaintance of Peter Diamond, feel free to start right here with Showstopper. Yes, the characters do grow as the series progresses, but Lovesey is a master at treating each book as if it's a standalone. I jumped in about six or seven books ago and have never felt lost. However, I've also gathered together several of the earlier books to read at my leisure because Peter Diamond is one of those very addictive characters whom you just can't ignore.

(Reading copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

Latest in a generally competent, enjoyable (and long!) classic British police procedural series. There have been a few titles where author Peter Lovesey rather phoned it in, but this one is back in good form. Detective Peter Diamond is mellowing a bit as he ages, has moved in with his longtime lover Paloma, and indulges his cat. He has also developed a finer appreciation of his colleagues - a diverse-ish bunch (several women, youngsters with sharp computer skills, one with some neurodivergent traits that are used to good effect). An interesting setting in this outing - a long-running hit TV crime show with a large "cast" of director, producers, assistants, actors, stunt doubles, riggers, grips, etc. - suffering an unsettling string of show more disappearances, injuries, accidents, and deaths. Lovesey drops the right crumbs of clues in the right places; even if you peg the guilty, there are still surprises to be sprung, ferreted out by Diamond's smart, brave colleagues as he puts pieces together (sometimes very incorrectly indeed!). Nice job done by both Peters. show less

Peter Diamond's boss is making noises about his retirement, which throws him into an uncharacteristic panic. When a missing persons case presents itself, he's ready to seize on it to show he's still a sharp investigator. As usually happens, the plot thickens as the team learns another member of the same television production crew also vanished a few years earlier. Are they related? And could they have anything to do with the death of an elderly and popular cast member, who surprised a burglar at her home and was shocked into a fatal heart attack.

Diamond digs in, and suspicions grow, especially when the leather belt a vagrant picked up at the airfield where the missing man was last seen turns out to be stained with blood. Could the show more vagrant, a strangely erudite and assertive man, be the killer? Or could it be down to rivalries among the fractious company, many of them well-equipped to lie with conviction?

I didn't find this as strong as other entries in this long-running and usually top-notch series. Diamond, in particular, seemed far too quick to spin up elaborate theories as soon as he fastened on a suspect, which seemed unrealistic for a seasoned detective, even if he was rattled at the thought of retirement. The television setting was, as usual, richly drawn, and some of the red herrings were nicely diversionary, but the passages devoted to hashing out the possibilities and, too often, seeming convinced of a perpetrator on slim evidence slowed the pace down. Maybe when Diamond returns, he'll be back on his game and less distracted by shiny objects and fear of retirement. show less